This astonishing jet of radio- emitting plasma is over 200 light years long. The jet extends from the quasar core at the top of the image to the larger radio lobe at the bottom. The brightest regions appear black to emphasize the fainter elements.
The radio emission is generated by relativistic particles. These particles are called relativistic because they are moving close to the speed of light and so require special equations derived by Albert Einstein to describe their motion.
The bright spot in the radio lobe (toward the bottom) is called a ΓÇ£hotspotΓÇ¥ and is probably where the jet terminates. The lobe is formed by the jetΓÇÖs gases ΓÇ£splash- ingΓÇ¥ into the intergalactic medium.
